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№ 32 | November/December 2011 www.<strong>eatdrink</strong>.ca 21<br />
Diners can combine favourites. Pictured, Blackened Chicken with<br />
Tomato Salsa, Tomato Basil Risotto Cake, Quinoa with Cranberries.<br />
In & Out<br />
During the theatre season, the balance of<br />
business tips toward the eat-in, outdoor<br />
seating and picnic takeout trac, shifting in<br />
the o-season to take-home<br />
meals and catering. e dining<br />
room seats 24 on one<br />
side, with the other half dedicated<br />
to take-out, prepared<br />
foods and more chalkboards<br />
crammed with semi-permanent<br />
and daily items.<br />
Ashworth’s second-incommand,<br />
Victoria Rose,<br />
gives a tour of the most popular<br />
items: schnitzels (“We’ll<br />
go through ve platters in a<br />
day”), mac & cheese using<br />
Bright’s cheddar and asiago,<br />
hunter-style chicken, braised<br />
lamb with sweet-potato crust,<br />
pot pies, soups, and a display<br />
case of salads and sides.<br />
ere’s also a kitchen rack of all-local condiments<br />
such as August’s Harvest garlic products<br />
from Gadshill, Bauman’s honey from<br />
Millbank, Orchard Hill jams from Wallenstein,<br />
and Savvy Chef sauces from London.<br />
ey do a brisk business in special main<br />
courses, side dishes and desserts at Christmas,<br />
Easter and anksgiving. “Everyone could use<br />
some help on the holidays,” she says.<br />
“Janet also does spontaneous specialty<br />
items, depending on the occasion, like duck<br />
cont and bison tortière, and her gravlax<br />
disappears in a day.” Rose shrugs, “If you’re<br />
not here, you miss it.”<br />
e beer and wine are also handpicked:<br />
St. omas’ Dead Elephant Ale is on tap and<br />
Stratford Pilsner is in the fridge; and eight<br />
Ontario wines — four red, four white — from<br />
Chateau de Charmes, Cave Spring, Henry of<br />
Pelham, Creekside, et al. “I try to span<br />
the range, from Gamay to Meritage in<br />
reds, Riesling to unoaked Chardonnay<br />
in whites,” says Ashworth. “But it also<br />
depends if I go down to Niagara and<br />
grab a case. Sometimes to the chagrin<br />
of my servers.”<br />
Spontaneity Rules<br />
e County Food Co. sta thrives on<br />
the spontaneity, actually. “is summer<br />
a blogger from the States came<br />
in search of the world’s best peanut<br />
butter sandwich,” says Rose. “Other<br />
restaurants sent him here, so I said,<br />
‘Okay, come back tomorrow and we’ll have<br />
something special for you.’<br />
“So he came back and he was blown away:<br />
a pita, stued with peanut<br />
butter, grilled vegetables<br />
and dried cranberries.”<br />
(“You should have seen the<br />
presentation!” Ashworth<br />
interjects.) “And he raved.<br />
Apparently it’s one of his<br />
most popular blog entries.”<br />
Ashworth’s ad-libbing<br />
skills served her when<br />
she was recently matched<br />
against Francisco Alejandri,<br />
graduate of the Stratford<br />
Chef School and owner of<br />
Toronto’s Agave Y Aguacate,<br />
in this year’s Savour Stratford<br />
Chef Challenge. “It was a<br />
one-hour chef smack-down,”<br />
Ashworth laughs. “e surprise<br />
ingredients were bacon, a quail’s egg, a<br />
partridge and a duck. at was fun.”<br />
Ashworth’s potato pancakes<br />
County Food Co.<br />
38 Erie Street, Stratford<br />
519-275-2665<br />
www.countyfoodco.com<br />
Hours of operation:<br />
Tuesday to Friday: 11 AM to 7 PM<br />
Saturday: 11 AM to 5 PM<br />
Sunday: 10 AM to 2 PM (brunch)<br />
Closed Mondays<br />
DAVID HICKS is a Stratford branding consultant, writer,<br />
and wingman for the City of Stratford’s “Top Seven Intelligent<br />
Community” awards campaign. david@pensario.ca
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